Nico's (Not So) Great Escape

Before

So it's been almost a year since we brought home Nico the formerly-stray cockapoo.  All our other dogs, past and present, have been the rugged kind that don't need much in the way of grooming--a quick brushing and a bath every so often.

But Nico's the poofy kind.  When we first met him, he was all matted and tangled from his days on the mean streets of Conshohocken, Pennsylvania.  The Montgomery County SPCA shaved away the worst tangles before they handed him over, but three months later, he was a little black cumulous cloud of curls.

Lather, rinse, shave...then repeat.  Every three months.

Two days ago, Nico visited the groomer's, where he was de-fluffed and pampered:

He came home sleek, neat, and smelling like a daisy.  Lovely, right?

After

Well, yes.  Except it turns out that the newly sleek Nico--a.k.a. Sleeko--can fit through a gap in our backyard fence--one we'd never even noticed before.  One moment he was in the backyard, and the next he was gone. I screamed his name and clapped my hands, and just before I started hyperventilating he came running back, seeming almost as relieved as I was.

Which doesn't mean he won't try again.  The world's a mighty tempting place.

To guard against future escape attempts, the gap in the fence has since been boarded over.  We've been scouting out other possible escape routes, hoping to stay one step ahead of trouble.

Would somebody please remind Nico that he's got it pretty good here?

Sleeko the Mischievous rests after his big adventure